


Be Mine, Valentine

by FrozenHearts



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Age Difference, Canon Compliant, Cute, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Female My Unit | Byleth, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route Spoilers, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route Spoilers, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Spoilers, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Hilda and Seteth have super cute supports okay, Identity Reveal, Implied Relationships, Mentioned Black Eagles Students (Fire Emblem), Mentioned Blue Lions Students (Fire Emblem), Mentioned Golden Deer Students (Fire Emblem), Post-Time Skip, Pre-Time Skip, Rare Pairings, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Saints, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Spoilers for Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Teacher Friendships, White Heron Ball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 12:30:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21208571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenHearts/pseuds/FrozenHearts
Summary: Seteth didn't think much of Hilda at first, but even after all these years, he's still surprising himself





	Be Mine, Valentine

**Author's Note:**

> In my Blue Lions playthrough I managed to recruit Hilda at the expense of getting the dancer class (I forgot to assign a dancer for the ball) so I am currently trying to get all of Hilda and Seteth's supports and it's too fricken cut y'all

Professor Byleth had chosen to teach the Blue Lions, leaving Manuela in charge of the Black Eagles and Hanneman in charge of the Golden Deer, respectively. There was nothing wrong with that- as a magic focused group, Manuela was better able to handle lectures on healing magic while Hanneman thrived on lessons regarding the mighty bow and arrow. Byleth was a rather all-around fighter, considering her time as a mercernary, but at times, Seteth wished Byleth had taken responsibility of the Golden Deer house instead, if only for the Church's sanity.

While driven, the Golden Deer house was rather rambunctious; Seteth couldn't entirely fault them because teenagers could be difficult at that age (as Flayn had proven herself to be from time to time), but it was rather ridiculous, the amount of complaints coming from the other houses. Usually it was about Claude von Reigan lacing someone's food with experimental stomach poison, or Raphael Kirsten had chosen to hone his brawling skills in the dead of night, keeping everyone in the dorms awake until the rooster crowed and the first class bell rang. 

Seteth also knew that even though she wasn't their teacher, students from the Golden Deer and Black Eagle houses seemed to flock to her, showing off test scores and asking for clarification on a tough subject. Byleth seemed to embrace this, although it had started irking Hanneman to no end.

"I swear, those Golden Deer kids want nothing to do with me!" Hanneman had lamented over a peach sorbet one morning. The faculty were currently taking their breakfast, about an hour before the students came for their own. 

"Have they been doing well in their studies?" Seteth asked as he swallowed some of his food; the peach flavor seemed to be spiced with cinnamon, making his throat tingle slightly.

"Well, yes," Hanneman admitted reluctantly, "But not by my doing! It seems our newest professor has stolen their hearts."

Seteth chuckled, "You may win over some just yet, Hanneman- didn't Lysithea mention she was interested in learning more about Crests recently?"

Hanneman's facr lit up as he nodded, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose, "Oh, yes! She's ostentatious, that one! A few others have done well in terms of their archery as well."

Right. Claude, Leonie and Ignatz- Hanneman had mentioned those three once or twice, and Flayn had taken a liking to them as well, showing off a few tricks they had shown her during practice. He placed his spoon down carefully on the table, wiping his mouth free of any juice from the dessert.

"As long as they aren't causing trouble-"

"Their bound to make trouble," Manuela appeared next to Hanneman, sliding into the seat across from Seteth, "their teenagers, it's in their nature."

Hanneman gave Manuela the stink eye, and it made Seteth wonder why they even bothered being in the same room as one another; every time he spoke with one, the other just so happened to be nearby, ready to blather on about something mundane until it turned into a full blown argument. Seteth heaved a sigh, resigning himself to the inevitable row as he gestured for Hanneman to continue.

"Oh? Like it's in yours to nag?" Hanneman said rudely,.

"Oh, get over it!" Manuela snapped, "Besides- you're making poor Seteth uncomfortable."

Seteth offered a tight smile, "Quite alright- we're all friends here, let's at least try to get along so early in the morning."

Hanneman nodded, turning to Manuela, "Have the Black Eagle students ever ditched your class to see Professor Byleth?"

Manuela grinned like a cat, "Delightful, she is- Linhardt actually approached me about transferring to her class yesterday, although I think it has something to do with his friend being in the Blue Lions class."

Hanneman spluttered indignantly, but Seteth didn't entirely see the problem; often, students worked best among peers they were comfortable with, and Seteth had seen Anette practicing her black magic skills in the training ring; Linhardt would definitely wake up after one session with her for sure, and possibly keep himself awake long enough to write decent notes. 

"I see no issue," Seteth said, "Has anyone in your class asked to transfer as well, Hanneman?"

"No," Hanneman said, "but Byleth has been asking about the possibility of Hilda being transferred to her class recently."

That madr Seteth purse his lips. He had heard about Hilda Goneril on more than one occassion: male students would discuss her cuteness, female students would discuss her fashion sense. More often than not, however, they complained that she was lazy, prone to tricking her classmates into doing her assigned chores for her to go off shopping or getting her hair cut.

"It seems that Byleth has succeeded where you haven't," Manuela snickered, "besides, you haven't focused on axe training in a while; Byleth can offer that for Hilda because I've seen the woman swing an axe and it is _amazing-_"

Hanneman was starting to get red in the face and Manuela was all too smug as she began waxing poetic about Byleth's muscles and mysterious aura.

They didn't hear his good bye as he left them to argue, thanking the chef for the wonderful breakfast as the students began filing in.

\-------

In an odd stroke of luck (or coincidence, although Seteth figured Sothis may not be so kind), Seteth found himself running into none other than Hilda while walking through the main entrance hall. It was odd, since the hall was mostly empty save for a few knights tending to their station, and he knew for a fact that class was in session.

So what was she doing?

Clearing his throat, he approached with deliberately louder footsteps, offering a smile when the young lady jumped in surprise.

"Oh! Seteth!" she exclaimed, "What has you out and about?"

Seteth shrugged, "I am on my to offer my prayers- and yourself?"

Here, Hilda seemed to dither, fiddling with the ends of her long pink twintails as she managed an odd, "I just came from there! Gotta offer up all my... thanks and whatnot, right?"

"Indeed," Seteth raised an eyebrow, "it is important that we uphold our beliefs in such trying times, don't you agree?"

"Sure...."

Seteth bowed his head, "And I am glad to see you are well. Flayn mentioned you missed tea time eith her due to a mysterious illness."

Now Hilda looked embarassed, "You heard about that...?"

Seteth nodded. Flayn loved regaling him with her adventures around the monestary, and recently, Hilda had been mentioned very often; whether it be tea, makeovers or even study breaks, if Flayn did it, it was most often with Hilda.

It was nice, really, to see Flayn so happy.

"My sister enjoys your time," Seteth explains, "it is nice, to see her socializing with people... her own age."

Hilda giggled, waving his sentiment away with the flick of her wrist, "No big! She's so cute, how could I not spend time with her?"

Seteth bowed, "Nevertheless, thank you for spending time with her. I must be going- until next time."

He vaguely heard her say good-bye, but he knew she was lying. Although, he supposed there would be no reason to send her back to class, as Hanneman most likely took attendance and a quick look at the large clock hanging above the entryway told Seteth that classes dispersed for lunch in a few minutes anyway. 

\-------

The next day, Hanneman was scowling into his meal, and he found out it was because Hilda had decided to transfer to the Blue Lions class after all. Linhardt of the Black Eagle house had transferred as well, leaving Manuela slightly glum (according to her the boy was marvelous at healing magic despite his tendency to nod off or miss lectures entirely), but soon wiped the frown off her face when Byleth approached with an almost nervous expression.

Even Hanneman had been worried, considered Byleth wore an unusally blank stare most of the time, but Manuela practically squealed before remembering herself, sending the newest professor a coy grin and a wink so the rest of breakfast had gone surprisingly well.

What wasn't well was that Seteth found Hilda once more cutting class- her new class, which was ridiculius- and decided to regale her with a fable.

He didn't know why, but if he were asked, Seteth would argue it was because most of the other students complained if her laziness. Or he could say it was because Flayn had found her first friend in Hilda, but he told her the story anyway.

The tale itself was not entirely nice, depicting a dutiful squirrel who harvested nuts before winter came whilst their friend, a playful fox, wasted their time to play and do fun things. Flayn had enjoyed it, and as Flayn's friend, Seteth figured Hilda might enjoy it too- and more importantly get the message.

Apparently, that was not the case, as her eyes lit up and a broad grin was stretched ear to ear, bearing pearly white teeth in an almost (dare he say it) dazzlingly feral manner.

"That is soooooo cute!" Hilda squealed, clutching her hands to her chest, as she smiled at him.

Seteth found himself blushing, although he wasn't sure why.

"N-no!" Seteth shook his head, "You misunderstand my meaning entirely! I-"

But Hilda wasn't listening, her eyes starry as she added, "I can just picture it now- you sitting with Flayn by a cozy fire, telling her a story to help her go to bed! You know, I honestly thought you were a bit of a stick-in-the-mud, but this puts you in a whole new light!"

Seteth failed to find the words as he tried to argue that she had missed the point once more, but clamped his mouth shut as Hilda offered her goodbyes and skipped off, her pink twintails shiny under the soft light offered in the monestary's main hall. 

Later, however, as he found himself assisting Byleth with the Blue Lions class, he was approached by Byleth as the students began pairing off for an exercise in team-building. He could see Dedue immediately appraoch the Prince Dimitri, both sharpening a pair of lances. A gray haired boy who Flayn had said was called Ashe was currently showing Mercedes how to notch her arrow so it wouldn't cause a burn against her extremely pale skin and he spotted Linhardt immediately hunkering down with Annete and showing off his skills in white magic whilst she returned the favor with black magic spells of her own.

Seteth made a mental note to tell Manuela there was probably something more than friendship going on there before Flayn tugged at his sleeve to get his attention, "Big brother!"

Seteth blinked, "I apologize, I was merely distracted. Did you say something?"

Flayn rolled her eyes, although her smile betrayed her supposed annoyance, "I said I will be partnering up with Felix for today's assignment- he is offering to show me how to use a sword."

Seteth's brain went in a million different directions as he spotted Felix across the training yard, clad in a new set of mage robes as he sharpened a sword. His dark blue hair was pulled back in a ponytail and there was a scowl on his face as stray pieces fell in his eyes.

"Why don't you work with Hilda?" Seteth suddenly offered, surprising himself, "It would do you well to practiced with your friend."

Flayn shrugged, "Felix is my friend too! And the professor chose our partners, so Hilda-"

"Needs a partner for the assignment," Byleth's strong voice cut Flayn off as she approached, as creepily silent as ever, "And I think Felix would do well with a soft touch."

"Thank you, professor!" Flayn bowed before bounding towards Felix and the boy's grim expression changed almost unnoticeably; his mouth was twisted into the barest hint of a smile, but as he watched Flayn flail her arms excitedly towards the sword, Seteth saw Felix's eyes were not as cold.

Interesting.

Clearing his thoughts, Seteth turned to Byleth, "What may I assist you with?"

Byleth jabbed a thumb towards her class, "I've got Ingrid and Sylvain practicing riding today, but that leaves Hilda without a partner. Can you be her partner today?"

And Seteth was only mildly surprised when he found himself saying yes, walking towards the stable where the pegasi and wyverns were living. Hilda was already there, dressed in a heavy set of warrior's armor that made Seteth wince- with the heavg fur lined collar and the spiky metal boots, it looked extremely heavy. But Hilda didn't seem bothered as she nervously pet one of the pegasus's manes, turning around when Byleth called for her.

Her face lit up like the sun when she saw Seteth.

"Hey yo!u" she chirped, "This is gonna be fun!"

Seteth bowed, Byleth moving away to help Dimitri as there was the tell-tale snap of a rather heavy weapon.

"Let's give it our all," Seteth said before taking the reins of a wyvern and helping Hilda into the saddle. As soon as they took to the sky, Seteth found his heart soaring, beating loudly in his ears with adrenaline and from time to time he found himself looking over to see Hilda hollering excitedly at the top of her lungs and they were greeted by Byleth when they finally touched ground.

"Five years from now," Byleth said, "I already spoke with the class, but we're gonna have a reunion right here."

Hilda immediately agreed and gave Seteth a quick salute good bye, allowing an ecstatic Flayn to drag her off for lunch.

There was a small part of Seteth tucking away the memory of Hilda's red cheeks and bright smile as they flew over the training grounds as he went to bed that night as Flayn rambled about her upcoming date with Felix. 

\-------

Waking up was an absolute nightmare.

Five years had passed and Garreg Mach had been thoroughly and utterly destroyed. He and Flayn were combing through the ruins, looking for any sign of the Blue Lions class, any sign of Byleth or Manuela or Hanneman.

Anything that told them that Emperor Edelgard had not completely destroyed the church in her mindless, senseless war.

Seteth's knuckles were white as he held on to the reins of his wyvern, surveying the damage from above as Flayn went on foot, casting a few light spells here and there when she had found something.

Under the terribly dark sky, in the pale light of the moon, they had managed to recover most of the Blue Lions class. Dedue was currently sitting with Dimitri and Ingrid, trying to get him to eat, but Dimitri just looked dead inside, his blond hair limp and shaggy in his face. His cape was crusted with blood and Seteth wanted to ask how he lost an eye, ultimately thinking better of it when the still standing doors of the monestary barged open, banging loudly against the walls.

The Blue Lions class was up in arms, and Seteth even saw Felix step protectively in front of Flayn, a ball of fire hovering above his palm. Seteth felt his own heart beating harsh against his ribs, threatening to break free as the figure slithered forward in dark shadow-

-and he breathed a sigh of relief, tears pricking the corners of his eyes as none other than Byleth and Hilda shuffled their way inside, trying their best to support each other until someone had enough sense to get Sylvain or Mercedes to heal them.

It was midnight when Seteth found the courage to approach Hilda later, the young woman sitting with Flayn and Linhardt over a meager excuse for soup. The dining hall wasn't as grand as it once had bern, but Seteth took a certain amount of pride in seeing the students again, all grown up and chattering like the old days.

The thought made him laugh- it seemed all he ever had were old days, but still.

"Brother?" Flayn's voice cut though his thoughts, "Is something the matter?"

Seteth shook his head, offering Flayn a tight smile, "No, everything is fine- I just wish to speak to Hilda, if it's alright with you, of course?"

Hilda exchanged glances with a confused Linhardt before shrugging, her chair scraping loudly against the floor, "Fine with me- don't wait up, okay guys?"

Seteth offered his arm and after a moment's hesitation, Hilda took it. Seteth could feel the flex of her muscles as she slipped her arm through his, the roughness of her hands (no doubt from the giant axe she liked to weild), and Seteth sorely wished he had changed his ceremonial blue robes before he fell asleep for five years because the last thing he needed was Hilda pointing out how dingy his dress sense was. 

Then again, this was war. Not everyone was at their best at the moment. 

They walked through the broken pillars that substituted for the main hall, moving in an uncomfortable silence before they finally reached the chapel, or at least what was left. Rubble surrounded thr statue of Seiros, stained glass was shattered from the tall windows and the pews were cracked and splintered. Seteth was pretty sure whatever valuables were kept had been plundered by bandits too.

"You're awfully quiet," Hilda said suddenly, "Kinda starting to freak me out, honestly."

Seteth shook his head, "That is not mt intention, I assure you."

Hilda cocked her head, long pink hair falling over her shoulder in its high ponytail and Seteth took a second to really take in what he was looking at. 

"You've grown into a beautiful young woman," was all Seteth found he could say."

Hilda rolled her eyes, "I was, like, seventeen or eighteen or somethething when I was in school, of course I grew up!"

Seteth laughed along with her, "And I appreciated your friendship with Flayn."

Hilda scrunched up her nose and Seteth thought it was cute, "I talked to you a lot too. You could say we were friends too."

Again, Seteth nodded in agreement. During his time as a teacher, he hadn't gotten to know many of the students, but as Flayn was constantly talking about her back then, Seteth liked to think they were friends back then too. Maybe even now, altbough five years was and a war was definitely enough to let a friendship wither, especially when one friend fell asleep for the duration.

"Yes, I like to think we were friends too," Seteth agreed, "I never had a friend who was so... blunt, shall we say."

Hilda's eyes widened, "Was I really like that?!"

"I assure you, it was extremely refreshing."

Hilda looked taken aback, as if she wasn't used to such an idea, "Oh? Well... I guess it was refreshing for me too. I liked hearing your stories. I kinda missed those during the war."

Now it was Seteth's turn to look embarassed,"Y-you did?"

Hilda nodded, "I kept reciting the ome about the squirrel and the fox to myself, but it didn't sound as good, honestly." Ducking her head, strands of pink obscured her face and Seteth slowly reached out to brush it away, tucking it reverently behind her ear.

His mind was yelling at him to tell her, so he did.

"I'm afraid I haven't been entirely honest with you, Hilda."

Hilda frowned, "Whaddya mean?"

Seteth bit his lip, heaving a sigh as he let his hand fall away from her face, letting it hang uselessly at his side.

It was now or never.

"I was asleep during the five years after Edelgard announced her intentions against the church-"

Hilda blew a raspberry, "And they all complained I was lazy!"

"- because I had to," Seteth finished, looking Hilda confidently in the eye. As he waited for her reply, she looked like she wanted to laugh, and back then, when they were friends, Seteth figured she probably would have, like she had when they flew the pegasus and wyvern in that training exercise.

Whatever little giggles Hilda had managed petered out until she said with realization, "Oh, you're actually serious." A moment of silence hung between them until Hilda asked quietly, "Seteth?"

"Cichol," Seteth said matter-of-factly, "I am, in reality, Saint Cichol."

Hilda looked slightly uncomfortable, hugging herself as she said, "Does... Does Flayn, uh, know?"

Seteth pursed his lips, "She has known her whole life- she is Cethlaenne."

Hilda shook her head, "I know I cut class a lot, but I did pay some attention and we were taught that Cethlaenne-"

"Is Cichol's daughter, yes," Seteth finished for her. 

Neither of them said anything. Seteth was sort of relieved, but the look on Hilda's face was anything but reassuring. While a weight fell off his shoulders, he wanted the ground to swallow him up, spit him out where thr sun didn't shine and leave him to rot. Seteth hung his head, staring at the dirty toes of his boots while listening to Hilda splutter and garble nonsense, trying to wrap her head around it. 

"I had such a huuuuge crush on Cichol when I was in school!" Hilda screamed, making Seteth jump a foot in the air, nerves frazzled by the sudden boom in the empty cathedral, "Are you kidding me?!"

Seteth raised his hands in defense, "Hilda, I-"

"And I kept cutting class, by the way-" Hilda stormed up to him, jabbing an angry finger into his chest, "- just so I could catch a glimpse of you because you looked like him in the encyclopedias and-"

Seteth backed away, watching Hilda's face turn as pink as her hair and clothes.

"-now you're telling me the Seteth I became friends with and started crushing on in my last year of school is fucking Saint Cichol?!"

Seteth raised a finger, then faltered, "You... liked me?"

Hilda groaned, "Not the point, Seteth!"

"If it's any consolation, Flayn decided the course of action to dealing with her crush on Felix was to throw things at him."

"Not helping."

Seteth clamped his mouth shut, watching Hilda mutter under her breath, pacin nervously until Seteth was fairly certain she was going to wear a hole into what was left of the tiled floor.

He had never seen Hilda so nervous. As a student, she outgoing and confident, and it was obvious that she still was confident in her adult life. She looked positively radiant, standing now in thr soft glow of candlelight, bright against the dark destruction in the world around them.

Even when he had been asleep, Hilda had managed to worm her way into his dreams for five years. 

So Seteth did the only thing he could think of in that moment: he grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her, surprised at the candy taste and softness of her lips.

When he pulled away, Hilda's face was beet-red, but her smile.... Her smile was the biggest he'd ever seen, all teeth as she lurched forward and wrapped him in a hug tight enough to break all his ribs and snap his spine; he lost his breath in a strangled puff as Hilda suddenly picked him up (he had to remember this was a woman who swung axes around all day, of course she could pick him up) and spun him around, breathing hard when she planted him on his feet. As soon as she let go, she took a step back.

"I missed you so much," she said, "I'm... I'm just really happy, okay?"

Seteth bowed, glowing at her laugh as he offered her his arm once again.

"I can't tell you how much I've missed your smile," Seteth admitted, "shall we go?"

Hilda perked up, "Like on a date? Oooh, it'll be so cute-"

"I meant the war room, Hilda. We do have to win this war first, after all."

"Oh, yeah, yeah- but after we win! We gotta!"

Seteth beamed at Hilda as she started babbling a mile a minute about cafes and parks and other things, but he didn't mind.

When the war was won, Seteth was excited to finally have someone who he could call home. And even if the war didn't end in their favor, as long as Hilda was their, with her smile like the sun, he didn't care.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to rare pair hell once again why do i do this to myself
> 
> Also i might split this into chapters at a later date because it got away from me lmaoo


End file.
